A PETITION Presented unto His MAIESTIE At His Court at BRISTOLL on the 7 day of August. 1643.
By Sir Baynham Throkmorton Baronet, High Sheriffe of the County of Gloucester, on the behalfe of the Clothiers of the same County.
VVith His MAjESTIES Answer thereunto.
OXFORD, Printed in the Yeare 1643.
To the KINGS Most Excellent MAjESTIE.
The Humble Petition of the Clothiers of Your MAjESTIES County of Gloucester.
SHewing unto your most Excellent Majestie, that they being commanded by Prince RUPERT His Hignesse to keepe their poore people at worke for the space of one moneth, are most ready and willing to obey the same, to the utmost of their power: But so it is, may it please your MAjESTIE, that some of us have lost our whole estates, and many of us have the residue that is left now in the hands of merchants within the City of London, without which we cannot keepe our work-folkes in [Page 2] worke as is Commanded, and as we desire, our credit being lost with our goods; and our cloth being made, we have no way of safety to keepe it, noe meanes to vent it; whereby we are in a most distressed Condition: All which, in all humility we present to Your MAjESTIES most gracious Consideration; with this protestation, that whilst we live, we will continue Your MAjESTIES loyall, faithfull, and obedient Subjects, and will be ever ready to expresse the same with our lives and fortunes.
VVee therefore most humbly beseech Your MAjESTY, that You would be gratiously pleased to take us into Your favour, and our distressed estate into Your Princely Consideration, and to protect our persons, goods that we have left, and cloth which we shall make, and to give us Your Majesties gratious VVarrant to fetch our money from London, and to afford us some way whereby we may have sale for our cloth hereafter, whereby we shall be enabled to assist Your MAjESTIE, maintaine our families, and [Page 3] many thousands of poore people which depend upon us; And we, as in duty; and by our allegiance we are bound, shall alwaies heartily pray for Your MAjESTIES long and happy Raigne over us.
His MAjESTIES Answer.
HIs Majesty having taken this Petition into Consideration, and having a deepe sence of the importance of the trade of those parts, and how many of His poore Subjects are concerned therein, hath commanded me to signifie that His Majestie hath given expresse orders to all his Officers and Souldiers (which orders he intends to fortify by a Proclamation to the same effect) That they offer no manner of violence to the persons or estates of any of the Petitioners. That he will require a strict account from any that shall presume to disobey those His Commands. That He hath commanded His Secretaries of State to give Licence to such of His Subjects to repaire to London to [Page 4] fetch their money from thence as shall be made appeare unto them to be so well affected to His service as that they may be trusted to repaire thither. That He hath given order to the Commissioners of His Treasury to consider the best way and meanes they may to enable the Petitioners to sell off their cloth, and to treat with the Merchants of the City of Bristol and of such other Ports as are, or shall be in due obedience to His MAjETSY, to take off such proportion of Cloth from the Petitioners at reasonable rates, as the Petitioners shall be able to make.
This is a true Coppy of the Petition, and His Majesties Answer, attested by mee John Driver Under-Sheriffe, Com: Gloucester.